Linguine with Roasted Red Peppers, Crabmeat & Basil

This time of year, all I want to eat is fresh fish. Grilled whole, pan-seared, raw — I don’t care. Unfortunately, the markets in my town make this sort of desired eating an impossibility. Where I live, the freshest fish comes from a can. Fortunately, canned fish is rather good.

I recently discovered Wild Planet products and particularly like the salmon, sardines and dungeness crab, all of which are nice to have on hand when throwing together dinner is the name of the game. The addition of a can of crabmeat to this favorite summer pasta dish not only made it a touch tastier but also a smidgen more complete, especially for those who don’t consider a sprinkling of cheese a suitable protein. Crabmeat of course could be substituted for any other canned fish or meat or left out altogether — it is a wonderful and summery dish on its own — but crab is a particularly tasty addition.

Finally, I have some exciting news for those of you wanting to try Afeltra pasta but without direct access to Eataly. A company called Po Valley Foods is selling Afeltra pasta online — they are currently accepting orders but note that the pasta won’t be available till the 15th. In the past few weeks I have tried a variety of their other pastas including the buckwheat and the la campofilone tagliatelle and linguine (featured in this post), all of which are incredibly delicious.

Finally, finally, commenters Kellie Ann and Allegra will receive a set of Julia Child notecards. Have a nice weekend everyone.

*You could certainly use jarred, which would save time, but if you have the time, make them from scratch — they’re so easy and delicious!
**Use whatever shape pasta you like.

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a big pinch of kosher salt. (I add about a tablespoon). Place the oil, garlic and red pepper flakes in a small skillet and turn heat to high. When the oil and garlic begin to sizzle, turn off the heat. (If you have an electric burner, as I do, remove pan from the heat source if the garlic begins to brown.)

2. Cook pasta until al dente. Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta cooking liquid. Drain pasta and place in a large bowl. Immediately toss with the garlic-red pepper flake oil. Add the sliced roasted red peppers, crab meat and fresh basil to the bowl. Toss together. Taste. Add some of the reserved pasta cooking liquid if necessary. Season with more salt and pepper if necessary.

I received your cards! They are exceptional–so witty and fun. Thanks! Also, I wanted to note that if you live near a Costco, they have terrific crabmeat. The can claims it is wild and sustainable. I hope that’s true. It has to be refrigerated before opening and has a shorter shelf life than other canned products. The crab comes in big chunks and is not stringy or mealy at all. It’s a good value, even as pricey as it it. There are two varieties, one more expensive than the other, I think it’s about $13.00 for one pound and the fancier stuff is about $19.00 for a pound, but that is a lot of crab if used as you suggest here or in crab cakes. I used the Costco crab to make your crab cakes as I don’t have those nice Maryland crabs at hand, and they were delicious.

Wow, it is the first time I am on your blog – and I must say the simplicity of it all is really refreshing. You have great talent, and I love your recipes. Thank you for sharing your culinary gifts! I will be definitely coming back for more! xxx

Love the use of roasted red peppers with the crab and linguini – this truly looks like the perfect easy summer dish! So colorful and packed with flavor… I’m featuring this post in today’s Food Fetish Friday (with a link-back and attribution). I hope you have no objections and thanks for sharing such amazing creations…

Thanks for sharing your awesome recipes and beautiful pictures. I actually ate this one for breakfast. I used coconut oil instead of olive, sundried tomato pesto (all out of red peppers), and gluten free linguini. This recipe you provided is super quick and easy ! thank you!!!

I made this last night and it was superb! The only substitution I had to make was chicken instead of crab meat due to allergies. I did add some fresh grated Parmesan cheese on top. Thank you for posting this recipe with stunning pictures! Most certainly will be keeping this for many future pasta nights. Buen provecho!